“…She just started screaming…” “…She doesn’t need a doctor…” “…She’s okay, right?...” “…I called Jim and Rhonda…” “…Dillon might fly down…” “…She needs them right now…”

Little snippets of the conversation that had been floating on around me the past few hours fill my mind as I begin to wake up. My vision is blurry, and I have to blink a couple of times to clear it completely.

The room I’m in is unfamiliar. I’m glad it’s not a hospital room, like I would’ve expected it to be. It seems to follow a dark-purple sort of theme; it’s soothing.

The bedroom door creaks open, and I jump. I sit up to see one of the people I least expected to see checking in on me.

“You’re awake,” Meaghan says, sounding rather relieved. She walks over to the bed and presses her hand to my forehead. It takes all of my willpower not to push her away; it was nothing personal – I just didn’t know her all too well.

She seems to understand by the way my body has stiffened considerably and she backs away, nodding slightly.

“Do you need anything? Water?” I attempt to clear my throat, and I almost choke on how dry it is. I nod. “Do you want me to send anyone up? or would you just like to be alone for now? I’m sure the others will understand…”

“Gus…” I manage to say. She nods again, smiling kindly at me.

“Just wait here sweetie; I’ll go get him for you.” I don’t have a chance to thank her; she seemed nice enough. She seemed genuinely concerned for me.

Zack got pretty lucky.

I lie back down and close my eyes. My head hurts. I don’t know what’s going on, or where I am. I know Gus can give me the answers I’m looking for; we can figure out what to do next.

Together.

The door opens again. I can tell it’s Gus by the way he walks; heavy and with determination, but not loud. Calm. Polite.

It suites him.

“Autumn?” he asks cautiously. I manage to sit up. He hands me the glass of water in his hand and I take a long, refreshing drink from it. He sits down beside me, looking at me nervously. “How are you…? How are you feeling?”

“What’s going on, Gus?” He looks at me for a moment, as if trying to determine whether or not I’m being serious.

“Well, according to Matt,” he explains. “He went to the O’Connor’s house, but when he got there, Hunter said you were at Austin’s house with Leda. So he drove up to get you.”

“But… why?”

“Because he was mad,” he tells me, laughing slightly. “He was mad because you ran off without telling anyone. Everyone was worried sick about you, you know. Matt wanted to call the police. Michelle was crying her eyes out. I thought you were… out again. Zack and Brian were trying to calm everyone down…” He shakes his head. “I was really fucking scared, Autumn.”

“I’m sorry, Gus,” I say truthfully. “It was never the plan to go to Austin’s. I only went over there to talk to Leda for a little while, but then Anthony showed up, and we had to get out of there before he found us…” I brush away a few tears that are running down my cheeks.

“Anthony? Was that the guy who…?” I nod, and he lets out a sigh. “So he knows Hunter and Leda?”

“He’s their brother, Gus.” He inhales.

“Damn,” he breathes. “Do they know?” I nod again.

“He hurts Leda, too, Gus,” I tell him quietly. Almost immediately, I feel guilty telling him. I felt like I was betraying my best friend. But at the same time, I felt like I was doing the right thing.

Ironic.

“Have they tried doing anything about it?” he asks me gently.

“Yes. But Anthony’s a master manipulator. He has connections; he’s been arrested so many times, but he’s always found a way out of it.”

“What does he even do?” I shrug.

“Beats me. Probably something to do with drugs. Would explain a lot.” We fall silent for a moment. “What happened after he came and got me?”

“You don’t remember, huh?” I shake my head. He sighs and swings his legs up onto the bed so he’s sitting more comfortably. “Once you got onto the highway, you said you ‘couldn’t breathe’ or something like that. Matt said he didn’t quite believe you at first, but then you started crying and… And he panicked. He exited and pulled over, and that’s when you started screaming. He said you were going on about asking him not to hurt him. Nothing he was doing was working. He said he held you until you finally started to calm down, nearly twenty minutes later. Then, you blacked out. He drove you out to Zack’s house, since it was closest. Which is where you are now.”

That would explain why Meaghan had been the one checking on me.

“I sort of remember that,” I admit, speaking slowly. “I couldn’t breathe… And then I started picturing Anthony. I could hear his voice inside my head – it was all too real.” Gus grabs my hands and I look him in the eyes.

“Autumn,” he says, “You need to tell someone.”

“I know.” He drops them, clearly not having expected me to say that. “I realized that while I was trying to calm myself down.”

Hunter had been my anchor. He had saved me… Unknowingly, but still; he did.

“So you’ll do it?”

“I can’t do it alone… Gus?”

“Hm?” He looks at me expectantly while I try to word the question right in my head.

“Are Jim and Rhonda going to make me come back to Washington? Because I don’t know if I want to go back just yet.”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask them when they get here tomorrow.” He looks at me for a moment. “Do you want me to go get Matt and Michelle?” he whispers. I nod and he kisses the top of my head. “I’ll be right back,” he promises.

I take the few minutes I have alone to prepare myself – or at least attempt to. But it seems that no matter how many times I go over what to say in my head, my nerves keep growing worse and worse. I wring my hands nervously; my heart is practically jumping in and out of my chest.

When the door opens again, I am about ready to burst into tears; begging Gus to do it for me – or to let me do it some other time.

But I needed to do this now.

Michelle rushes over to me right away. She sits down beside me and begins feeling my cheeks and forehead worriedly. She kisses the top of my head and holds me to her chest. I look over her shoulder at Matt, who just stands at the foot of the bed, with his hands shoved awkwardly into his pockets. Gus just gives me a reassuring smile.

She finally pulls away after Gus clears his throat. He walks around to the other side of the bed and sits down beside me. He holds my hand tightly in his and I squeeze back, grateful to have his strength and support.

“Ah… We need to talk to you,” he starts for me. Michelle frowns, absentmindedly tucking a strand of hair behind my ear for me. Matt looks over at me expectantly.

I hug my knees to my chest. “I… I sort of snuck out…” Matt lets out a humorless laugh at this.

“Wow,” he says in pure disbelief. “And here you want me to start treating you like you’re mature.”

“I only did it because I was getting sick of you keeping me inside all the time,” I retaliate angrily. He narrows his eyes at me, but Michelle shoots him a warning glare. “Anyway, that’s not the point.” He raises an eyebrow at me.

“What is the point?” he growls impatiently.

“Matthew!”

“Could you guys please quit bickering?” Gus intervenes, raising his voice slightly. “If anything, Matt, you’re the one who’s being immature. This is important – I suggest you listen.” His jaw drops; Gus has rendered him speechless.

“Leda came and got me. She was… She was drunk. And she was acting… strange. She dropped the bottle and decided to go home and get a new one. But her brother, Anthony… He’s really… abusive. She was making a lot of noise, and Hunter – her other brother – came in, and made us hide. But Anthony knocked him out and Leda panicked and…”

I take a deep breath, desperately trying to keep myself from bursting into tears. It was getting harder to breathe again, but I just pictured Hunter’s face – how he somehow managed to look perfectly fine after he supposedly got knocked out by his brother. There had been a bruise on the side of his head, right by his eye, when I went over there the other day. How could I have missed that…?

“He found us. And he took us to his room…” Matt’s face falls. He seems to realize where this is going. Michelle just shakes her head slightly – she doesn’t want to accept where this is going. “He… He raped her…” I choke. “And he handcuffed me to the bed. And when he was done with her, he…”

I don’t need to finish. I can’t. It’s done – they know the truth now. They know what happened.

They know I was raped.

Michelle lets out a wail before throwing her arms around me. This wasn’t the reaction I was expecting out of her – I didn’t expect for her to seem so… hurt.

I suppose there are a lot of things I don’t quite understand.

“Matt?” Gus calls suddenly. Michelle pulls away from me just in time to see Matt storm out of the room. I can hear him pound down the stairs, and shortly after, I hear the front door slam. The force of it causes the whole house to shake, and I can tell it won’t be long until the guys come up here demanding to know what the hell was going on – I could hear them murmuring amongst themselves downstairs.

“Where is he going?” I ask. He just shakes his head.

“No clue. Out to get drunk, maybe? Maybe he blames himself…”

“No. No, Matt’s not one to use alcohol to solve his problems…” Right as he says this, Brian and Zack appear in the doorway. They look between the three of us, frowning slightly.

“What the hell is going on?” Brian demands. Zack walks over to me and squeezes my shoulder gently. I appreciate the gesture; I know he only has good intentions.

“I’ll explain later,” Michelle promises them. “For now, I think we just need to give both Matt and Autumn some space.” Brian nods reluctantly.

“Thanks for letting her stay here, Zack,” Gus says quietly. He smiles over at him.

“It’s no problem at all,” he reassures him before ruffling my hair gently. “You just let me know if you need anything, okay kiddo?” I nod, managing to send him a genuine smile as he follows Brian out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

“Now what?” Gus sighs. Michelle looks over at him. “We have to figure out what to do about Anthony, first of all. Second, we need to do something about Autumn… therapy, maybe?” I shake my head frantically at the very idea.

“I don’t need therapy,” I say. “I don’t. I just need… time.” Gus doesn’t look convinced.

“Gus, why don’t you let me handle it?” He doesn’t seem to like the idea.

“But…”

“Please don’t argue with me,” she says, holding up a hand to silence him. “Right now, I’m going to need time to… accept this. Granted, I’ll try to make it quick. I understand you’re concerned about your sister, and I am, too. But you’re going to have to trust me when I say that we can figure this out.” Gus sighs.

“Alright. But I still get to have a say in what happens. I can’t… I can’t lose her.” I almost feel like they’re talking like I’m not even in the room.

Michelle rests a hand on his arm comfortingly. “I understand.” She sends him a small smile. “I can’t lose her, either. Not when I’ve just gotten her back. We’ll figure this out; I promise.” He nods. “Now, we should let her be for now.” She looks back at me. “And you should try to get some sleep.”

Like I haven’t gotten enough of that already.

Gus kisses the side of my head. “I love you, Tummy,” he whispers before sliding off the bed. Once he’s gone, Michelle kisses the top of my head and makes a move to get up.

“Wait,” I call, grabbing the end of her sleeve gently. “Stay with me… Please?” She looks a little surprised, but she doesn’t argue.

She walks around the bed and lies down in the same spot where Gus had been a moment earlier. She helps me to get comfortable. I lie down, facing her; she begins brushing the hair out of my face.

“I love you, you know?” she whispers. “I’ve always loved you, Autumn. You and your brother. It doesn’t matter who your father is.”

“I love you, too.” I don’t even have to think about the words; they seem to flow freely from my mouth. “I honestly can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me.” She smiles.

“I will always be here, Autumn. If you ever find that you’re alone… If you find that you can’t talk to Gus about something… I’m here. And even when you go back to Washington, I’m just a phone call away.”

“I don’t know if I want to go back to Washington,” I admit. “I don’t know if I’m ready to face everyone after everything I’ve been through.” She nods understandingly.

“If you want to continue to stay in California for a little while longer,” she says quietly, “Then I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“You’d do that?” She nods.

“Of course, sweetheart.”

“Thank you.” She strokes my cheek with her thumb and kisses the top of my head.

“Try and get some sleep now, honey. You look like you really need it.” I feel like I really need it. “I’ll be right here if you need anything. I won’t leave you.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too… Mom.”

Notes

A/N: In case you haven't noticed, I did change my username, but I'm still going to be marking these author's notes as "Wolfy". Any new stories that I post from now on however, will be marked as "Aicon" (don't know how that's relevant but hey, you never know I suppose)

Hope you all enjoyed =)

~WOLFY~